LA GRANDE — In an average year, the Thunder RV parking lot can have as many as 45 RVs, ranging from truck campers to fifth wheels to travel trailers.

But these days, there are four RVs sitting in the mostly empty lot at the Island City dealership. The shortage has lasted a full year now, with no end in sight, according to Thunder RV salesman Mike Weinkauf said.

“The shortage started last summer right after COVID-19 shut everything down,” he said. “I think it’s because people are getting cabin fever and wanting to go out more.”

Thompson RV, based in Pendleton, has also seen a large increase in demand over the last year. According to Thompson RV Manager Corrin Thompson, part of the shortage can be attributed to the Thompson RV being the biggest dealer of Outdoors RVs in the world.

“We’re totally sold out for the year,” she said. “We’re actually preselling RVs up to 16 months in advance now. Someone might come in today and want to order an RV, and they won’t get it until the end of 2022.”

The increase in recreational vehicle demand is not just local. According to the RV Industry Association, RV sales in the US have significantly increased during the pandemic, with total 2021 RV shipments projected to reach more than 576,000 — 18% higher than the 2017 record.

However, not all dealerships are seeing the same sales trends.

“According to the national trend, we should be seeing a huge increase in sales, but we’ve actually seen about 50% less sales this year than normal years,” Thunder RV owner Caleb Samson said. “The demand is just far bigger than the supply, and we can’t replace them at the same rate as we’re selling them.”

According to Samson, the company ordered 80 RVs several weeks ago, but does not know when they will arrive.

Northwood Manufacturing, which produces most of Thunder RV’s supply, is based in La Grande and works with 66 dealerships in Oregon and surrounding states, nearly all of which are also facing a shortage.

“We would love to increase the number of RVs that we’re making, but there’s several mitigating factors,” Lance Rinker, the director of purchasing and marketing for Northwood Manufacturing and Outdoors RV, said.

According to Rinker, the two biggest factors of the shortage are labor shortages and increased material costs. Both Northwood and Outdoors each employ about 215 employees, 68% of the 315 employee capacity. This number has not risen in recent years.

Northwood and Outdoors each manufacture roughly 230 RVs every month, a number that has not risen with the increased demand. Rinker estimates that manufacturing prices have risen nearly 20% since the onset of the pandemic, partially due to higher fuel prices and lumber shortages.

Retail prices have risen with increased manufacturing costs. Weinkauf said that Thunder RV prices have risen 10% in the last year. Prices range from $25,000 for a basic truck camper to nearly $100,000 for high-end fifth wheel RVs.

With no end in sight, Weinkauf said he is optimistic that business will continue to stay busy.

“Well, they’re building them as fast as they can, and we’re selling them just as quickly,” he said. “It’s gonna take some time to catch up.”